I was just reading SBTB's DNF review of Fifty Shades, and SB Sarah wrote something that resonated with me. She wrote that one of her main problems with the book was that Christian read as "unrealistically young -- almost like a 17-year-old trying to live a 35-year-old's life." I felt something of the same with Christian. I liked the "business" scenes with Christian when he was barking at everyone. But in these scenes, I pictured him as mid-30s. With Ana, when it was just them together, he did often come across as much younger. I appreciated that the author tried to explain this (via Dr. Flynn) by telling us that emotionally, Christian was adolescent due to his experiences, etc.. But I'm not entirely sure that recommends him as a romance hero.

Reading the series, I was reminded a bit of Matthew Farrell from Judith McNaught's Paradise. I think Christian and Matt are supposed to be the same type of guy. But whereas Matt comes across as "all man," Christian did often come across to me as "college guy." I wonder if I still would have felt that way if I'd gone into the series completely blind -- not knowing, I mean, that the series was Twilight fanfiction, and that Christian was inspired by Edward?

I liked the romance/relationship between Christian and Ana, but at the same time, I never entirely got what pulled him to her...why she clicked for him in a way that no others did. (The Bella/Edward connection made more sense to me and seemed more believable than the Ana/Christian connection.) I'm not a fan of all the "but WHY does he love me?" analysing that Ana was doing, but I sometimes shared her confusion.

My favorite romance couples make sense to me. They have a quality of being made for one another. Roarke and Eve, Jamie and Claire. But also, I think what makes them work as couples is that they're evenly matched somehow...equals. Eve doesn't have Roarke's money or power, certainly, but she's a match for him with respect to her intelligence, her drive, her physicality, her full-on commitment to whatever she's involved in at the moment. I'm not sure that Ana and Christian came across to me as matched or equals. And I'm not sure I can completely buy into the idea that they're made for one another. Rather, it's more like Ana just happened along at the right time in Christian's emotional development.... (Although, speaking to my earlier point of not being sure what pulled Christian to Ana, I do think that a more worldly, experienced woman would not have captured him the way Ana did. I think her innocence was a chance for him to start over, somehow...as if her innocence provided HIM with a clean slate. And maybe her own extreme youth was necessary as well, because if she'd been older, Christian's young persona might have come across as immature by comparison?)

I do like the books. I re-read/skimmed them today. I just thought a bit more about some of the elements that bugged me.

Okay...someone mentioned Fifty Shades fanfiction. I'm enjoying this one, told from TAYLOR'S perspective: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8175507/1/Fifty_Shades_of_Taylor I like the portrayal of Christian here. This is the brusque, commanding, demanding, often impossible-to-please Christian that we catch glimpses of in the trilogy, but I also think the author has managed to capture the more sensitive, somewhat secretive side of Christian as well.

I was just reading SBTB's DNF review of Fifty Shades, and SB Sarah wrote something that resonated with me. She wrote that one of her main problems with the book was that Christian read as "unrealistically young -- almost like a 17-year-old trying to live a 35-year-old's life." I felt something of the same with Christian. I liked the "business" scenes with Christian when he was barking at everyone. But in these scenes, I pictured him as mid-30s. With Ana, when it was just them together, he did often come across as much younger. I appreciated that the author tried to explain this (via Dr. Flynn) by telling us that emotionally, Christian was adolescent due to his experiences, etc.. But I'm not entirely sure that recommends him as a romance hero.

Reading the series, I was reminded a bit of Matthew Farrell from Judith McNaught's Paradise. I think Christian and Matt are supposed to be the same type of guy. But whereas Matt comes across as "all man," Christian did often come across to me as "college guy." I wonder if I still would have felt that way if I'd gone into the series completely blind -- not knowing, I mean, that the series was Twilight fanfiction, and that Christian was inspired by Edward?

I liked the romance/relationship between Christian and Ana, but at the same time, I never entirely got what pulled him to her...why she clicked for him in a way that no others did. (The Bella/Edward connection made more sense to me and seemed more believable than the Ana/Christian connection.) I'm not a fan of all the "but WHY does he love me?" analysing that Ana was doing, but I sometimes shared her confusion.

My favorite romance couples make sense to me. They have a quality of being made for one another. Roarke and Eve, Jamie and Claire. But also, I think what makes them work as couples is that they're evenly matched somehow...equals. Eve doesn't have Roarke's money or power, certainly, but she's a match for him with respect to her intelligence, her drive, her physicality, her full-on commitment to whatever she's involved in at the moment. I'm not sure that Ana and Christian came across to me as matched or equals. And I'm not sure I can completely buy into the idea that they're made for one another. Rather, it's more like Ana just happened along at the right time in Christian's emotional development.... (Although, speaking to my earlier point of not being sure what pulled Christian to Ana, I do think that a more worldly, experienced woman would not have captured him the way Ana did. I think her innocence was a chance for him to start over, somehow...as if her innocence provided HIM with a clean slate. And maybe her own extreme youth was necessary as well, because if she'd been older, Christian's young persona might have come across as immature by comparison?)

I do like the books. I re-read/skimmed them today. I just thought a bit more about some of the elements that bugged me.

Okay...someone mentioned Fifty Shades fanfiction. I'm enjoying this one, told from TAYLOR'S perspective: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8175507/1/Fifty_Shades_of_Taylor I like the portrayal of Christian here. This is the brusque, commanding, demanding, often impossible-to-please Christian that we catch glimpses of in the trilogy, but I also think the author has managed to capture the more sensitive, somewhat secretive side of Christian as well.

Nifty, thanks for sharing your thoughts here and also for the fan fiction rec, I had no idea where to wade in! I will try that one for sure.

Linda_________________"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner

Reading the series, I was reminded a bit of Matthew Farrell from Judith McNaught's Paradise. I think Christian and Matt are supposed to be the same type of guy. But whereas Matt comes across as "all man," Christian did often come across to me as "college guy." I wonder if I still would have felt that way if I'd gone into the series completely blind -- not knowing, I mean, that the series was Twilight fanfiction, and that Christian was inspired by Edward?

My favorite romance couples make sense to me. They have a quality of being made for one another. Roarke and Eve, Jamie and Claire. But also, I think what makes them work as couples is that they're evenly matched somehow...equals.
I do like the books. I re-read/skimmed them today. I just thought a bit more about some of the elements that bugged me.

Okay...someone mentioned Fifty Shades fanfiction. I'm enjoying this one, told from TAYLOR'S perspective: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8175507/1/Fifty_Shades_of_Taylor I like the portrayal of Christian here. This is the brusque, commanding, demanding, often impossible-to-please Christian that we catch glimpses of in the trilogy, but I also think the author has managed to capture the more sensitive, somewhat secretive side of Christian as well.

I'm still in the process of my reread of the series. I am 1/2 through the last book, and I've taken some time with the books this time around, so Christian is fresh in my mind. You mentioned that you saw Christian as a college guy but not when he is doing business. Actually, I pictured him as someone who skipped the 20's and just headed into his 30's. He only seemed young to me when he let himself relax around Ana. In his business mode, and otherwise, he mostly talked and acted like an older man..well, older than 27, anyway. And in that, I related to them as a couple because she brought out the young side of him, in fact, gave some of that youth back to him, in a sense brought out the best of him. In that, I really did get them as a couple, otherwise I wouldn't be rereading the series with such interest.
I would love to see EL James write at least one book coming from Christian's POV. Really enjoyed her short take on it at the end of Freed. What a lovely surprise that was. There is much speculation on Twitter as to whether or not she will do that. Someone I follow thinks she never will write again. I certainly hope she is very wrong. Would love Christian's side of this relationship. His voice is so very different from Ana's.

Just to add...Thanks for the Taylor link. Will be checking that out at some point today. _________________"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride

I would love to see EL James write at least one book coming from Christian's POV. Really enjoyed her short take on it at the end of Freed. What a lovely surprise that was. Would love Christian's side of this relationship. His voice is so very different from Ana's.

A great deal of the fanfiction I've enjoyed has been written from the OTHER character's POV. I like canon (or mostly canon) fanfic. One of my favorite fanfics is Breaking Dawn told from Edward's perspective. Another favorite is the Sookie Sackhouse books told from Eric's perspective. In both cases, the fanfic author used all the events, characters, and dialogue of the source material, but just let us get inside the other characte's head.

With Twilight (and Sookie and Fifty Shades) I felt like we missed out a bit on the characterization of the guys because we didn't know what they were thinking. All three of those guys can be kind of secretive. The author will tell us of a certain expression that crosses their faces, but of course she doesn't tell us what THOUGHT accompanied that expression. That's what's so frustrating about 1st person. I think it's readable, but I really want to know what everyone is thinking -- especially the men.

So yeah, it would be nice to read Christian's perspective -- sort of like how Meyer provided us with a good chunk of Edward's perspective in Midnight Sun. I'd like to see his perspective and some of what he's doing with his time when Ana's not around. What is he thinking/feeling in those moments?

The Taylor fanfic doesn't give us Christian's perspective, but at least it's time spent around Christian when Ana isn't present, so we do get SOME perspective other than hers. It's nice.

A great deal of the fanfiction I've enjoyed has been written from the OTHER character's POV. I like canon (or mostly canon) fanfic. One of my favorite fanfics is Breaking Dawn told from Edward's perspective. Another favorite is the Sookie Sackhouse books told from Eric's perspective. In both cases, the fanfic author used all the events, characters, and dialogue of the source material, but just let us get inside the other characte's head.

With Twilight (and Sookie and Fifty Shades) I felt like we missed out a bit on the characterization of the guys because we didn't know what they were thinking. All three of those guys can be kind of secretive. The author will tell us of a certain expression that crosses their faces, but of course she doesn't tell us what THOUGHT accompanied that expression. That's what's so frustrating about 1st person. I think it's readable, but I really want to know what everyone is thinking -- especially the men.

So yeah, it would be nice to read Christian's perspective -- sort of like how Meyer provided us with a good chunk of Edward's perspective in Midnight Sun. I'd like to see his perspective and some of what he's doing with his time when Ana's not around. What is he thinking/feeling in those moments?

The Taylor fanfic doesn't give us Christian's perspective, but at least it's time spent around Christian when Ana isn't present, so we do get SOME perspective other than hers. It's nice.

This is a world I have never read in...FanFic..LOL, but I see I am missing out. I would love to have Eric's POV! I really enjoy the first-person narrative, but would welcome the POV of the other person. I loved when Kelley Armstrong wrote Clay's POV...weekly on her website. He is a bit Christian-like, and his POV was so different from Elena. I do wish that Stephenie Meyer would have published Edward's POV, even though we got a chunk of it in Midnight Sun. As for Christian, he a such a different personality from Ana, the perspective would be much different. Good stuff! The Taylor fanfic sounds fun too._________________"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride

Last edited by xina on Fri Jun 22, 2012 8:36 am; edited 1 time in total

Yes, and I loved the way she'd add a new chapter each week. So much fun for the fans of that book.

On another note...I am watching the Today Show and Ann Curry is interviewing this person on Hollywood news. They are talking about FSoG, and he is going through a list of actors who want to play Christian. Quite an impressive list.
A funny thing... my daughter and I were out to dinner last night and she got a text from a college friend. She texted that she was by a pool and almost every girl there was reading Fifty Shades Of Grey. LOL!_________________"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride

I think it's called "Eric." It's at Fanfiction.net (I think that's the address). The author's name is something like DeeDeeINTJ or something. I have the link on my home computer. Will post it tonight. It's very good. She does the ENTIRE series from the first book through current and the fanfic is LONG right now, but since it's told from Eric's POV, she only shows the scenes where Eric is present. (In other words, it's not like you're re-reading all 12 books again from scratch. But still, I think the fanfic is currently up to 60+ chapters. She's been writing it for YEARS.)

For the most part, she doesn't take liberties, but every once in a while she'll throw in a scene for Eric where Sookie isn't present -- like an Eric and Pam scene at Fangtasia or something like that. She does a great job of keeping their characters authentic. She uses all the dialogue straight from the series, no embellishments. The embellishments come from knowing what Eric is thinking or feeling -- we're privy to his innermost thoughts in those moments.

I'm a big Eric and Sookie fan, and honestly, this fanfic made me even MORE of one.

Oh, and I think the author has a website called EricNorthman.net. I think. You can probably find the fanfic there, instead of having to search Fanfiction.net.

Xina,
Fanfic is so totally hit or miss. Some of it is really well-written, and some of it is HORRIBLE. That's one of the things that so frustrating about it -- you have to search through a lot of crap to find the gems, and sometimes you abandon the effort before you get to the good stuff. Crap fatigue, I guess.

The other frustrating thing about fanfic is finding a story you really love that's not complete. Either the author just updates VERY slowly or the author has just abandoned the work altogether, leaving it unfinished...and leaving you hanging! (There's a Twilight fanfic called Last Rights that I really got into, but the author hasn't updated since December. So frustrating!!)

You also have to get comfortable with the artistic license the writers take. I tend to prefer canon fic -- meaning that it stays true to the worldbuilding or pairings or events of the source material. I have a harder time, for instance, with Twilight fanfic in which the characters are all human. But if it's well-written, it'll still pull you in....

And my goodness! The SLASH!! If you want to read about Edward and Jasper getting it on, for instance, then fanfiction is the place for you! (Fanfiction.net has recently cracked down on a lot of the more explicit stories. They'll allow sex scenes to a point, but nothing too graphic. Which is fine with me. I don't mind reading the sex scenes, but I don't read the stories FOR the sex scenes.)

Fanfiction.net -- you might as well start there -- also has communities that will help you narrow down your search. These aren't message boards, but rather gatherings of fictions that meet certain criteria.

And if you delve into Fanfiction.net, aim for stories with a high review count. High doesn't necessarily equate to better, but its often a good indication. Oh! And they have a sort of search engine. Make sure you expand your search to rated M (for Mature). This doesn't necessarily mean sex scenes, but just some more mature material. The Rated M stories are automatically hidden, so you have to make sure to include them in order to see them.

[quote="NiftyberginThe other frustrating thing about fanfic is finding a story you really love that's not complete. Either the author just updates VERY slowly or the author has just abandoned the work altogether, leaving it unfinished...and leaving you hanging! (There's a Twilight fanfic called Last Rights that I really got into, but the author hasn't updated since December. So frustrating!!)
.[/quote]

Last Rights was so good, I was devastated to come to all she had written and knowing that she's abandoned it. Still I'm not sorry I read it even though it's unfinished, she is a very talented author.

Wow...those are awesome!
Yes..she did go to the party, but failed to take pictures! They ended up discussing it and drinking some kine of gray martini. I think she had some kind of sandwiches too. This woman is very crafty too, so I was disappointed!! What? Not handcuffs, riding crops or even a freaking tie??? LOL! I think they had fun though, and more and more of her friends are reading the book.
Anyway..those desserts are lovely! Thanks for posting._________________"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride